State Sen. Josh Stein isn’t the Democratic nominee for Attorney General yet, but he might as well be. And at least monetarily, he’s off to a good start. His campaign raised over a half million dollars in the last quarter of 2015, giving him $1.49 million in cash-on-hand.

Meanwhile, Republicans will have to go through a competitive primary. One of the candidates is Stein’s Senate colleague, Buck Newton of Wilson County. The other is Jim O’Neill, District Attorney for Forsyth County. Neither campaign on the Republican side has released financial reports yet, but Stein will almost certainly come out with the advantage.

On paper, the Attorney General race looks like a toss-up. It will also be interesting for two other reasons: one, it’s frequently a stepping stone for higher office. Two, the contrast between the candidates will be quite large. Stein is very much a candidate of the modern North Carolina Democratic Party: urban and progressive. While Roy Cooper will lead the ticket and is much more of a typical Eastern North Carolina Democrat from old, Stein really represents the future of the party – regardless of whether or not he wins this time around.

To win this race, the GOP is looking to infuse it with national issues. They hope to portray Stein as an Obama Democrat who is unwilling to defend the state from federal overreach. This has been a successful strategy for Republicans running for the AG position in other states. On the issues, the race favors the eventual GOP nominee. But the cash advantage is Stein’s.

1 Comment

  1. Apply Liberally

    You wrote: “…..the GOP is looking to…….to portray Stein as an Obama Democrat who is unwilling to defend the state from federal overreach.”

    But you left out how the Dems will tar Newton and O’Neill. So let me provide that:

    “The Democrats will try to paint Buck Newton as a staunch regressive who sponsored bills to allow public magistrates to evade their sworn public duties (SB2), to further undermine public employee associations (SB3), and to overrule local governments decision-making on locating Civil War memorials (SB22). In Jim O’Neill’s case, the Dems will describe him as a “prosecutor without compassion,” noting his strong opposition to the Racial Justice Act (which, before its repeal, led to the exoneration and release of several who had been unjustly found guilty and sent in prison).”

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